The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade does not hold data on the total number of barbers or the qualifications they hold and therefore cannot determine the proportion holding recognised vocational qualifications, including NVQ Levels 2 and 3. However, published data by the Department for Education for England shows that there were 406 starts on the Barbering Professional apprenticeship in academic year 2023/24, 326 in 2024/25 and 196 so far in 2025/26 (from August 2025 to April 2026).

This Government is committed to delivering an employment support system that is personalised to individual needs.  All jobseekers are entitled to tailored and flexible support through Jobcentre Plus. Work Coaches offer personalised advice to help individuals secure roles which reflect their skills, qualifications and prior experience, alongside targeted job‑search support.

Participants with vocational qualifications receive personalised support tailored to their individual skills, qualifications and employment goals. This can include support with identifying suitable vacancies, developing sector-specific skills and qualifications where appropriate.

Our reforms to the Jobs and Careers Service will place greater focus on career advice and progression and better matching of people’s experience and qualifications with employer’s needs.  Through Jobcentre Plus, and from October 2026 the JCS, employers can access tailored recruitment support, including vacancy promotion, candidate matching, and recruitment campaigns. This helps ensure employment support reflects current employer demand and enables individuals to identify opportunities where their vocational skills and qualifications can be put to effective use.

The Department also offers the Restart Scheme which provides 12 months of personalised and tailored support targeted at those who have been on Universal Credit for 6 months or more and in the Intensive Work Search regime. Providers support participants to break down their employment barriers by developing a bespoke action plan built on understanding their employment history, skills and needs.

It is not possible to determine the proportion of applicants who applied for, and were granted, specifically a second licence period. While the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) records the number of trainee licences issued, this data does not distinguish if these are second trainee licences.

Applications for further trainee licences are considered individually in accordance with the relevant statutory requirements.

Holding a trainee licence is not a requirement for taking the Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) Part 3 test, and DVSA's systems do not link Part 3 test outcomes to an individual's six-month trainee licence period.

DVSA publishes overall statistics on ADI Part 3 tests, including pass rates. This data is available on GOV.uk - Approved driving instructor (ADI) qualifying test data - GOV.UK

It is not possible to determine the proportion of applicants who applied for, and were granted, specifically a second licence period. While the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) records the number of trainee licences issued, this data does not distinguish if these are second trainee licences.

Applications for further trainee licences are considered individually in accordance with the relevant statutory requirements.

Holding a trainee licence is not a requirement for taking the Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) Part 3 test, and DVSA's systems do not link Part 3 test outcomes to an individual's six-month trainee licence period.

DVSA publishes overall statistics on ADI Part 3 tests, including pass rates. This data is available on GOV.uk - Approved driving instructor (ADI) qualifying test data - GOV.UK

Investing in youth services and youth work has a strong social benefit leading to decreased crime, improved health and increased employment for young people.

In the Youth Matters: Your National Youth Strategy we set out our commitment to developing and growing a skilled and sustainable paid and volunteer youth sector workforce. To achieve this, we are investing £15 million over the next 3 years in youth workers, volunteers, and other trusted adults to upskill the existing youth sector workforce and increase the number of trusted adults providing safe support to young people.

DCMS funds the National Youth Agency (NYA) to oversee professional standards, qualifications and workforce development for the sector. To ensure a sufficiently qualified and supported youth sector workforce, DCMS funding enables the NYA to maintain youth work qualifications, national standards and curriculum; conduct a youth work organisation census; and maintain a register of qualified youth workers.

The NYA is also leading reforms to youth work qualifications through the development of a new Standard Qualification Framework for Youth Work, due for launch in the autumn. These reforms will create more flexible and accessible routes into youth work, strengthen progression and access from Levels 1 to 6, including enhanced Level 3 more flexible entry pathways and routes into higher-level and degree-level qualifications.

To help remove financial barriers for individuals, particularly those from underrepresented groups, to gain accredited qualifications, DCMS is also continuing to fund the Youth Worker Bursary Fund during this financial year. Since 2019, DCMS has funded 4071 individuals to undertake a Level 2, 3 or 4 qualifications in youth work with 850 enrolled in courses due to complete by 2027.

DCMS does not hold empirical data to provide assured information on where those leaving youth work end up. The NYA collects limited workforce intelligence through its Youth Workforce Census and stakeholder engagement activities, although this does not provide comprehensive data on destinations for those leaving the profession.

Information on the school workforce is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.

This publication includes information on the proportion of timetabled hours delivered by specialist teachers for each subject and key stage for secondary schools at national level. The latest available figures, for November 2025, for religious education, history and geography at key stage 4 are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/3ba6e5c3-e5e7-43f3-2df3-08df07a6df71.

Timetabled teaching is reported for a typical week in November, as determined by the school. It does not cover an entire year of teaching. If there are variations in timetabling across the year, this is not covered in the data available to the department.

Data on the subject taught and specialist teaching are only collected from secondary schools that use electronic timetabling software that can produce data in the format required. Data is then weighted to provide national totals. Breakdowns by local authority are therefore not available.

We have no current plans for additional regulation for hairdressers and barbers, but we remain open to evidence. The Hairdressers Registration Act 1964 provides for a UK register of qualified hairdressers and barbers, although registration remains voluntary. Hairdressing salons and barbers are subject to a range of existing requirements, including health and safety and consumer protection legislation. It is important to take an evidence-based approach when making decisions, and the introduction of additional regulation would need to be carefully considered.

Investing in youth services and youth work has a strong social benefit leading to decreased crime, improved health and increased employment for young people.

In the Youth Matters: Your National Youth Strategy we set out our commitment to developing and growing a skilled and sustainable paid and volunteer youth sector workforce. To achieve this, we are investing £15 million over the next 3 years in youth workers, volunteers, and other trusted adults to upskill the existing youth sector workforce and increase the number of trusted adults providing safe support to young people.

DCMS funds the National Youth Agency (NYA) to oversee professional standards, qualifications and workforce development for the sector. To ensure a sufficiently qualified and supported youth sector workforce, DCMS funding enables the NYA to maintain youth work qualifications, national standards and curriculum; conduct a youth work organisation census; and maintain a register of qualified youth workers.

The NYA is also leading reforms to youth work qualifications through the development of a new Standard Qualification Framework for Youth Work, due for launch in the autumn. These reforms will create more flexible and accessible routes into youth work, strengthen progression and access from Levels 1 to 6, including enhanced Level 3 more flexible entry pathways and routes into higher-level and degree-level qualifications.

To help remove financial barriers for individuals, particularly those from underrepresented groups, to gain accredited qualifications, DCMS is also continuing to fund the Youth Worker Bursary Fund during this financial year. Since 2019, DCMS has funded 4071 individuals to undertake a Level 2, 3 or 4 qualifications in youth work with 850 enrolled in courses due to complete by 2027.

DCMS does not hold empirical data to provide assured information on where those leaving youth work end up. The NYA collects limited workforce intelligence through its Youth Workforce Census and stakeholder engagement activities, although this does not provide comprehensive data on destinations for those leaving the profession.

The department's statutory safeguarding guidance, ’Keeping Children Safe in Education’, requires schools and colleges to carry out appropriate pre-appointment checks, including verifying Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and statutory induction where relevant. Local authorities and multi-academy trusts can use the department's Check a Teacher's Record service to verify QTS, induction status, prohibitions and other relevant details. The service is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-a-teachers-record.

Where there is a discrepancy with the department's records, employers or teachers should contact: teaching.status@education.gov.uk for QTS discrepancies, and: teacher.induction@education.gov.uk for induction discrepancies.

Initial teacher training providers, appropriate bodies or local authorities that remain in operation may be able to provide evidence to support an amendment to a teacher's record. For historic cases, the department may undertake archive searches to identify supporting evidence and verify record details.

Our plan to deliver 6,500 new expert teachers sets how we will recruit the secondary, special school and further education teachers, including religious education (RE) teachers, over the course of this parliament. It focuses on three key themes, attracting, retaining and developing teachers, to ensure that we have enough highly-skilled teachers in our schools and colleges to allow every child to achieve and thrive.

There were more postgraduate RE trainee teachers in 2025/26, with 492 entrants to initial teacher training, compared to 462 in 2024/25. The data can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/initial-teacher-training-census/2025-26.

From September 2026, teachers and leaders will receive a pay award of 3.5%, followed by a further 3% increase from September 2027, which means teachers will have seen a 17% increase in pay since this government took office. We have also taken action to reduce workload and promote flexible working and improve wellbeing, so even more teachers stay in the profession and thrive.

Our plan to deliver 6,500 new expert teachers sets how we will recruit the secondary, special school and further education teachers, including religious education (RE) teachers, over the course of this parliament. It focuses on three key themes, attracting, retaining and developing teachers, to ensure that we have enough highly-skilled teachers in our schools and colleges to allow every child to achieve and thrive.

There were more postgraduate RE trainee teachers in 2025/26, with 492 entrants to initial teacher training, compared to 462 in 2024/25. The data can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/initial-teacher-training-census/2025-26.

From September 2026, teachers and leaders will receive a pay award of 3.5%, followed by a further 3% increase from September 2027, which means teachers will have seen a 17% increase in pay since this government took office. We have also taken action to reduce workload and promote flexible working and improve wellbeing, so even more teachers stay in the profession and thrive.